J Customer Value Foundation: Customer Value Testimonials
Customer Value Foundation Testimonials
Satish Jamdar Managing Director (Blue Star Ltd.)
Hi Gautam you were looking to connect with my other profile which I will discontinue soon. I read your notes often. Maybe we should meet someday soon!
Ms. Joan Saint-Prix Consultant, Speaker, Coach Mumbai India (Renouveau)
I have enjoyed receiving your newsletters over the last year and have forwarded them to my family and friends who run their own small businesses and to some young executives too.
All value the information and have commented that they and their teams have gained much both professionally and personally.
The newsletters are 'eye openers' and 'reminders'. I look forward to receiving your CVF Newsletters and wish you and your team the very best.
Mr Gopalan Subramanian Deputy General Manager BandraKurla, Mumbai (ICICI Bank)
I do appreciate your service and the value that you attempt to bring out is really very specific and meaningful. I am not able to read all the articles but I do go through specific ones and I found them quite useful and thought provoking.
Mr. A. R. Subbarao SBU-Head Mumbai (Mahyco)
I have been receiving your Newsletters and articles. They have been very interesting & valuable. I owe my sincere gratitude to you for this.
Trust you are doing well. It is great to see you immersed in your mission of spreading the awareness about Customer value, thereby creating overall value for the organizations and the society.
Mr Vikram Gera Senior Vice President New Delhi (T.R. Chadha & Co., Chartered Accountants)
Greetings for the day!
I truly appreciate the initiative you have taken and the work your organization is doing. I wish you all the best for all your future endeavors. Looking forward for receiving your newsletters regularly.
Mr Anil G. Verma Executive Director & Head Personnel & Administration Mumbai (Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd.)
Thank you very much for the news letter.
Mr Ravi Kaimal New Delhi (KaimalChartterjee& Associates)
Many thanks for sending this thoughtful article. I hope this would be widely circulated - especially in the finance world - where often the excel file is considered more important than reality. This has also been written about quite well in the book "Boomerang".
Look forward to more insights,
Ms. Harmeet Chadha Sr. Project Manager (HDFC Bank-Quality Initiatives Group)
Many thanks for sharing various customer value articles/newsletter with our organization. We appreciate it.
Quality Initiatives Group is responsible for driving bank wide customer service excellence and executing various initiatives in order to enhance customer value. Therefore, please suggest if you could subscribe Mr. Ratan Kesh (Head - Quality Initiatives Group) and me for these customer value articles and newsletter which will help us to enrich our experience.
This is also providing us a platform to connect to your company.
Ms Sapna Samtani Executive Director Bengaluru (Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC))
Thank you for sharing this Mr. Mahajan. Truly an eye opener
Mr JeetKasar Country Manager China (ASIA MOTOR WORKS)
Thanks, good article.
Mr Rakesh Khar (AB-Inbevindia)
Quite an interesting piece (About Article "How to Get Senior Leaders to Change"). We must re-connect sometime soon. It has been quite some time that we spoke or met.
Festus O Fokolawo (CSIL (Combined Systems))
Very good article of the week
Mr Don Hales Managing Director Bedfordshire, England (World of Customer Service)
Good stuff
Jim Carras (EMI-1)
Great article! Hope all is going well with you. It seems we have lost all energy for EMA-I.
Jim Carras (EMI-1)
I have been very impressed with your articles of the week series. A thought for you to consider, EMA-I is going to invite a few industry leaders to have a blog on our EMA-I website (public side). I thought this could be of interest to you as your area of customer value can be tied to Portfolio Management. It is very important to understand the customer as companies objectives are translated into projects and then implemented. Somewhere in this process the relationship to the customer is lost.
Dr. Govind Hariharan Chief Operating Officer (Esab India Ltd)
Thanks Gautam. Very interesting piece.
Mr Phil Faris President (Phil Faris Associates)
Thanks for the great article.
Mr Ravinder John Director - Placements Pune (Indira college of Engineering and Management)
While I eagerly look forward to your articles on account of its insightful & value-added contents, your latest trailing mail has been so far the most interesting read, especially the "characteristics leading to exceptional service" as contained towards the end of the article.
Thanks for the initiative.
Gen. Mhaisale Deputy Director New Delhi (General Info Tech)
It is indeed an interesting article. However, The Balanced Scorecard Approach may be the remedy here. The holistic view of an enterprise has to be taken. The business belongs to shareholders, in multiple forms (individuals, government, FIIs, Banks, NBFCs, et al). The value is to be provided to the customer for maximization (optimization may be a better word) of wealth to the shareholders. However, the interests of the stakeholders (most importantly society, government, mother earth) has to be carefully guarded).
Gen. Mhaisale Deputy Director New Delhi (General Info Tech)
It is an interesting article.
The stress could be laid on "Change of the Mindset". The great companies, although having been founded may be even more than 100 years back, have the reputation of having the mindset of a young company of say 4-5 years. I conduct sessions on "Leading Change, Creativity and Innovation "and" Corporate Transformation and Risk Management". May be we could interact more meaningfully.
Gen. Mhaisale Deputy Director New Delhi (General Info Tech)
These are very interesting facts brought out and enunciated. The link between values and ethics could also be touched upon. These are getting increasingly relevant and crucial for the sustainability of a firm as illustrated through the example of Tata Companies by you. How about the MNCs?
Gen. Mhaisale Deputy Director New Delhi (General Info Tech)
I must complement you on this write-up. In fact it is the MISMATCH between the ambition and the available resources that drive any CEO to adopting innovative practices such as hand-written letters. It is stretching oneself to reach out to the customer. Everyone knows customer is king. However, the CEOs who stay and empathise with customers are the ones who will call shots. The hallmark of any great innovation is "SIMPLICITY" and who else can highlight this better than Steve Jobs through his path breaking iPOD innovation with motto of "1000 songs in the pocket", " Any song, three clicks away".
Gen. Mhaisale Deputy Director New Delhi (General Info Tech)
It is a well thought out article. You will agree with me that a business to be ethically sustainable, customer happens to be at the forfront of any business. This is evident from Tata Business Model Towards Global Excellence or GE or any reputed company. You will recall as to how Steve Jobs changed the customer profile by creating new experiences and delight for his potentail customers through breakthrough innvations such as iPod, iPad or iPhone. You also saw how the Japanese invaded the Japanese auto and electronic market through various customer oriented initiatives such as close customer service (other practices such as Kaizan , KanBn , Lean manufacture are not customer oriented), better product life cycle support and so on.
Hence it all depends on the leadership as to how one defines and shapes the customer taste / experiences. An initiative such as BuildWISE by Tata Steel is a case in point.
Mr Rajesh Koul Vice President. Business Excellence & PMO (DLF Pramerica life Insurance Company Ltd.)
Sir, thanks a lot for this wonderful article, it is really thought provoking... As discussed with you last time we meet , I have joined Management Program from Faculty of Management Studies -Delhi University. It been a week since I am attending evening class and was adjusting with a new schedule and a balance between work+ studies and Family... which was keeping me busy... Days before I met you , I thought I new everything about customer ( Being a Black belt, master black belt in six sigma).. But I have realized I no nothing .. I will study both your books and will get back to you for next steps... Wanted to thank you for a new thought and will like to be in touch with you to guide and mentor me....
Mr S.B. Sarkar (Tata Chemicals Ltd.)
Thanks you sir for including me in your valuable learning E-Mail Chain.
Mr Vinod K. Dikshit Managing Editor Australia (Leadership Excellence)
Many thanks for your mail and a most interesting article you have sent along with it. I'm not a management teacher, not even a student. But I believe that success of any business rests on its ability to meet the demands of its customers. The happier the customer, the more successful is the business. The customer is the reason for a business to be in business--he is the king and must, therefore, be respected and kept in good humour.
I'm in Canberra and would be most happy to meet you when I return to India next months.
Mr Binod Malviya Managing Director (Malviya Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd.)
Thanks very much Mr. Mahajan. The article made good reading. Indo-US MIM Tec Mr Manoj Kabre Vice President - Marketing I am impressed with your note below. It is indeed true. I have experienced it for the past 18 years, that I
Mr Manoj Kabre Vice President - Marketing (Indo-US MIM Tec )
I am impressed with your note below. It is indeed true..I have experienced it for the past 18 years, that I have been in the field of Sales & Marketing for global markets. It would be a pleasure to keep in contact.
Mr Robindranath Som Chief Operating Officer Mumbai (Sovereign Tech Engineering Services Pvt. Ltd.)
Thanks for sharing the interesting and valuable insights.
MI Khan (Ex-IG)
Thanks for sharing the valued information.
MI Khan (Ex-IG)
Thanks for the article sent across. It's informative,thought provoking and interesting as well sir.
Eric Fraterman Principal (Customer Focus Consulting)
Great article. Really appreciate it!
Mr N. V. Srinivasan Chief Consultant (N.V. Associates)
Thank you for your information, which can provoke positive thinking.
Mr Pratap Nair Director (FEI Cargo Ltd)
Very good sir.
PBV Raajan Director International (Chavi IT Services Pvt Ltd)
Your emails are informative
Mr HS Bawa Vice Chairman New Delhi (Zuari Adventz)
Doc Searls article on the customer of the future is really scary. We really have to take a serious note of it and all our future sales and marketing strategy have to factor this in to ensure that we are not caught unawares. We can ill afford to not take cognisance of the might of the customer as they get more and more empowered.
Mr Narayan Pisharoty Professor and Head E&TC Department (Symbiosis Institute of Technology)
Good one. Many companies in Canada have a day in a month when Managers cook and serve breakfast to others.............
Raman Govindarajan Chairman-(IACC) and CEO-(PerfSYSTEMS) (Indo American Chamber of Commerce (IACC) TN)
very apt and impressive quotes from Peter Drucker, and reminds of recent sessions with Marshall Goldsmithat San Diego. I will certainly have the blue box printed and framed in my office.
Also very impressed with your background. Not sure if IACC was able to leverage your background/knowledge.
Mr Shankar Nath (ICICI Lombard)
I am Shankar Nath, and I look after the marketing function at ICICI Lombard. Mr Bhargav Dasgupta, our CEO and MD , had forwarded the email you had sent him. I will surely get in touch with you if we need any help.
Mr Dick Sobel President & Pricing Consultant (The Pricing Analytic Group Inc.)
Very insightful
Mr David Physick United Kingdom (Principal Consultant at Glowinkowski International Ltd.)
Gautam's excellent remarks remind me of two important points. Drucker said you start a business to meet a customer need and invest in it to make money, a crucial distinction. And, if I recall correctly the definition of an organization is something like a "a group of people working together to achieve a common aim". So, both supply and demand side concern people. Let's create organization that people enjoy working in and it's a buzz to be a customer of. Do the right thing for both and Drucker's investors can also be happy over the long-term too!
Mr Zubair Bangash Partner Haier Pak laptops/President World Golf Association Pak/Board Member in 50 Fortune 500 (ZK Global Enterprises Umberala)
Thanks for the direction. I agree with you and have starting thinking on your advice.
Mr Zubair Bangash Partner Haier Pak laptops/President World Golf Association Pak/Board Member in 50 Fortune 500 (ZK Global Enterprises Umberala)
Thanks for sharing the valuable note. I am very much customer oriented person, and wants to learn till grave.Can we do something together? Looking forward to your advice.
Mr M C Thomas Executive In Charge, Western Africa (Tata Steel)
Nice indeed
Mr Deepak Wadhawan Senior Advisor, Risk Management & International Audit Services (Deepak Wadhawan & Co)
Thanks. Nice article
I am happy that you have also started sending "selected readings". When I started it , I had doubts but now I have a mass following.
Mr Ajay Kakar Chief Marketing Officer-Financial Services Mumbai (Aditya Birla Group)
Your recent 'article of the week' was shared with me by a colleague and I truly found it to be interesting, engaging and enlightening.
Would like to be added to your mailing list. And if convenient, catch up some time.
Mr Steven Pinchuk Founder and President (Profit Optimization Strategies)
I think that we have the same idea and are approaching it from different, although, complimentary perspectives.
Ms Lucie M. Newcomb Founding Principal (The NewComm Global Group, Inc.)
Impressive! Thanks for the info!
Ms Lucie M. Newcomb Founding Principal (The NewComm Global Group, Inc.)
Thanks for yet more great insights, Gautam, and belated Diwali good wishes to you also.
Mr Bill Ezell CEO and Founder (Client Success Group Inc)
I could only smile reading your message; I've been discussion the client's buy-side requirements and buy cycle for years. Some days I actually see where I'm making progress.
Mr R. Srinivasan Chief Executive Officer & MD (Janalakshi Financial Services Pvt. Ltd.)
Thanks. Nice article
I am happy that you have also started sending "selected readings". When I started it , I had doubts but now I have a mass following.Thank you Gautam. I have also sent your article "How SME's benefit by Creating Value for Customers: a case study" to my SME division,
Mr JS Gogia GM (CFCL)
CVF is indeed well thought over intellectual inter action for the professionals who are engaged in the pursuit of business. I always love to have such emails.
I reciprocate the new year best wishes to you and family members. Rest when we meet again.
Mr Festus O Kolawole Group General Manager (Combined Systems (CSIL) )
Yes! We thank you too for your numerous Epic Topics and the positive effect in our Organization here, it was quite wonderful
We wish you and your beloved ones the best of the season, productive and fulfilling 2013
Mr Pratap Nair Chairman (FEI Cargo Ltd)
What you are doing is kind of a social service. By educating us on various subjects, u are making us more productive and this makes us create more profits and this leads to more taxes to the exchequer. Do they value your efforts? Its high time people like you are recognized by the government. Itswe , your readers who should be thanking you and praying for your good health , happiness and prosperity for this new year and the years to come, so that you continue serving people in general and me in particular.
Ms Ranjana Rawat Regional Manager - North (1 to 1 help.net Pvt. ltd)
Your Newsletters made for an interesting and informative reading
Mr Ramachandra Murthy P. Founder and Chief Executive Officer (Interface Agricultural Technologies Pvt Ltd)
Thanks for your initiative as well time. Appreciate!!
Mr Ravindran Vathsala (HRG)
Yes I keep reading your articles which are interesting
Mr Nestor Bouvier President (Sapin)
Dear Gautam, nice job
Mr Michael Poulin Member of SOA Technical Committee (OASIS)
Hi Gautam,

I am impressed. Is this what you meant by "converting this into a seminar". I think it deserves trying, at least. IMO, this leads to the second fundamental value of a business in a capitalistic world - satisfaction of people needs. This, in term, leads to my model of Enterprise Business Architecture. Nonetheless, I have not found any tangible value in this stream yet (similar to your Customer Value Pricing).
If you have ideas to start with, I am ready.
Mr Hans Udo Wenzel Non-Executive Director (Azelis (India) Pvt. Ltd.)
Very nice invitation and highly creative! I would like to join and attend the seminaire!
KV. Simon Regional VP (American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute)
It is important to do always that which is Right, True and Good always to maintain a sustainable balance In turbulence.
C.M.A NAYAR Board Member (Areva T&D India)
Thank you for the note and the article . The values as perceived by the customer are changing constantly due to a continuous reassessment of the requirement and an increased awareness for sustainability . This would mean that competitive advantage of a company is put to test systematically in view of the changing market environment .In my view, the " throw away philosophy " in consumerism will have to disappear with a more logical approach for "consuming less but consuming better " ( this is a rough translation of a well known expression in French "Consommez moins mais mieux.") . This expression may mean different things in different countries . In developed nations , this expression may mean a certain type of protectionism for shutting out cheap imports and consuming locally made goods in smaller quantities but with higher unit prices . Real cost of any product will have to include Life Cycle Cost with the notion of " cradle to grave " and particularly the cost of management of end of life of products and recovery of value through recycling and reuse .
Mr Mukesh Singh Kushwah Chartered Accountant (Kushwah & Company)
Thanks for so nice write up
Mr G.B. Ghule Executive Director (Solcon Engineers Pvt Ltd.)
Sir, You may be absolute right ,but can you wake them when they are pretending . Can you improve their intentions of avoiding legitimate dues by giving n no of reasons, to which very difficult to resolve them. Seek solutions for this .We believe customer is 100% right.
Mr Kuruvilla Abraham ED & CEO (also Chairman Civic) (B.School)
In other words, perception is reality and that perception gets modified with time!
Mr N. Viswanathan (Chennai)
Thanks for putting me on your mailing list for such Customer Service oriented articles. I have been going thru all of them and learning from them. I liked this piece particularly because I am able to relate with the contents with my own experiences and memories of the same. Very valid points about feedback being taken after allowing some time for the customer to 'relish' & mull over the experience in calm and form a final and more logical memory of the same.
Mr KV Simon Regional VP (American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute)
A hearty Amen to your thought dear Mahajan
Mr. VS Krishnan Chairman & Managing Partner (VSK Strategies (Management Consultants))
Thank you for your thought provoking article. Reminded me frankly of my experience of several years back in a Top notch Corporate where the Chairman personally chaired every week a 'Thursday Meeting' with a single point agenda....Customer Feedback. The aim was to respond expeditiously to the voice of the customer & the aim was reach 'Zero Defect' on Customer complaints! Leadership on such issues needs to come from the very top!
Mr Jagdeep Sablok Sr. Vice President-Operations (Metro Tyres Ltd.)
Thanks a lot for wonder full article.
Kindly continue
Mr Dick Sobel Partner (SPMG Strategic Pricing Management Group)
Good stuff
Mr BC Chechani Chief Executive Officer (Hazel Infotech Pvt Ltd)
It's really a powerful thought, you are advocating.
However, there is need of understanding and support from top management/ drivers of the organization to empower to think about and putting efforts in value creation.
I will explore your website to know more about
Mr Hans Udo Wenzel Chief Executive Officer (Azelis)
A great stimulation to change and to move forward! I would only suggest for your organigram to put the 'return' side of the CFO directly under the CEO's responsibilities: he must be the first watcher of segment shares, etc.
Mr Ravi Kaimal Founding Partner (Kaimal Chartterjee & Associates)
This is a very important topic which many MBAs do not seem to understand. Just because they work on the numbers in Excel files, they are under the illusion that they are the ones who know and control everything.
In reality the ones who create value are busy creating value, and often leave the number crunching to others. Creativity, customer care, employee care, cultural sensitivity, contextual provisions, etc, are just some of the issues which can add value and crate entire new businesses , but cannot be shoe-horned into excel files.
As Einstein said "Everything that counts cannot be counted, and everything that can be counted does not count".
Mr Harry Macdivitt (CPD Associates Ltd)
I like your posts and in particular, I like the "Why Value Creation is more Important than Value Extraction?". I am putting together a conference talk and would like to include the chart you show in the post.
Ms Beth Reed Customer Relations Management (Greater Chicago Area)
Comment on "Building Silos or Breaking Silos" CVF article of the week:
I agree Gautam, most customer transactions run across company departments (silos) and can therefore run into difficulty in those gaps between departmental responsibilities. Wise companies make certain that employees understand that everyone is in customer service (responsible for the customer's experience within their area of expertise) and everyone should have at least a basic knowledge of the entire transactional process.
Mr Bernd Marquardt Managing Consultant (Capgemini)
Comment on "Building Silos or Breaking Silos" CVF article of the week:
I think you make a very good point here. From a customer's perspective, you only see your supplier as a company and you have the expectation that you get seamless service, no matter who is involved in the background. By the way: isn't this the same attitude we have towards our suppliers, no matter if in private life of from a business perspective?
Question is how to overcome the silos / internal barriers and help everybody in an organization to change to a customer centric attitude. As mentioned above, a customer strategy is an excellent approach in setting everybody's focus in this direction. When implementing such a strategy, one of the important facettes is the setting of the right measurement system. Companies should define KPIs and incentives across the various silos / departments or at least define what everybody's contribution to these KPIs should be. Dashboards on customer centric performance should be visible to everybody in the company.
There is also a need for defining cross-departmental processes and assigning owners to these processes. The definition of the processes should always come from the customer view: how (over which channels) are we communicating with our customers and what outcome do they expect from us.
The whole area of social collaboration tools offers a lot of new ways how communication with the customer and customer centric internal communication can be managed in a way that silos are vanishing and communication will be without borders.
Anna McLean Customer Service Manager Sydney, Australia (Fairfield City Council)
Comment on "Building Silos or Breaking Silos" CVF article of the week:
Great insight, too often the internal branches rely on the customer service team to support them and yet they think it is an easy job. I agree 100%, the service we provide externally cannot be as efficient and effective as it should unless there is true co-operation amongst the internal service providers. A company or organization develops products and services with a view for efficiency in production, cost effectiveness and customer usability. Silos were created to protect people and create the illusion of subject matter experts. Sure you need staff that have the expertise; however, if they do not participate in the service culture then their outputs may not meet customer's needs. Too often I have experienced the SME's lack of customer consideration, yet without them where would we be? Today, there are so many opportunities to listen to our customers and take their feedback on board to improve service that can also result in efficiency gains and improvements for any organization.
Ms Hanna Johnson Marketing Manager (Get Satisfaction)
Comment on "Building Silos or Breaking Silos" CVF article of the week:
You're spot on. To become the kind of customer-centric company that moves past business silos to truly prioritize the customer, you need to implement culture changes within your organization. Technology, like customer communities that bring multiple departments to one place to listen and respond to the customer, can help. So can having leaders who prioritize this, and vocalize that loudly and often. Generally, you need both to be truly effective. Thanks for sparking the conversation!
Geera Ramakrishnan Director - Home & Personal Care (Global) (Galaxy Surfactants Ltd.)
Recently I circulated to my Business Creation Team your Article on "De-Commoditizing Commodities: Add Value"
I enjoyed the Article
Well written!
Mr Sanjiva Dubey Asia Pacific Delivery Executive IBM Global Account (IBM)
Very good to read your "Death of Demand" article
Mr Anil Khandelwal Former CMD (Bank of Baroda)
Comment on one of the CVF Article's Presentation The presentation is superb and speaks of the reality, prevailing now. Congrats
Dr. Santrupt B Misra CEO, Carbon Black Business & Director, Group H.R. (Aditya Birla Management Corporation Pvt. Ltd.)
Thank you Gautam. Very well said and I enjoyed reading your piece.
Dr Mandi Professor of Dhandha Mumbai (National Institute of Industrial Engineering)
It is nice to know your slide show on MBAs and need for value creation.
I am sorry to say that today's MBAs ( as you said..) are not even value extractors.. I always refer them as value eroders !
I m a professor at NITIE Mumbai.. an MBA institute.
My point is like this..
An MBA spend > Rs. 20 lakhs in two years of MBA , and DO NOT earn even a single ruppee.. does it mean a student is extracting any value out of MBA.? It is utter nonsense.. What an MBA earn when s/he completes one's MBA is not the issue. A real MBA need to earn when value is spend in real time.
I work on the models how to make MBAs to create, extract and value release of the same.
i wish we exchange mails..
Mr Saurabh Priyadarshi General Manager (Chief Geologist) & Mentor(HSE) (IPL)
Very relevant content.
How can we instill concern and commitment in modern corporates which believe in investing a dime and earning a dollar.
Mr. Vikram Sinha Vice President, Operations, Passenger Vehicles Business Unit (Tata Motors)
I enjoy your updates.
Ms Larisa Sachdev Dhawan Director - Account Management & Consulting (American Express India)
Enjoy reading your articles
Mr. Hamayun Dhanrajgir Former Managing Director (Kodak)
Enjoyed reading your pithy comments striking a true note
Mr Hari Om Sharma Deputy General Manager-Marketing (Chambal Fertilisers and Chemicals Ltd)
Dear Gautam, nice jobThank you so much for being so good and knowledge sharing person on the earth
Mr Guy Arnold Managing Director (Sales Through Service and Investors in Feedback)
Great little article: thanks
Dr Dayal S Prasad Head-Supply Chain (Tata Steel)
Thanks for sharing the article which provides a thought-provoking as well as informative input!
Mr Gurminder Dhir Head (Commercial/Sales,Marketing,BD) (Geosteel LLC)
Thanks Nice article please.
Actually I feel that in MBA courses , all MBA students should be taught about Entrepreneurship as a compulsory subject.
As the way automation is moving , more and more established companies will need less and less permanent employees and apart from core production and selling activities in both manufacturing and service sector , most of other activities will be outsourced ,
There the role of entrepreneurship / contractors will come up in a big way.
Prof. Rajendra K. Gupta Owner (Sobhagya Consultancy & Marleting Services-India)
Thanks for sending the note.
The problem with technical education primarily and some other subjects like psychology or basic sciences, is that the professors commanding positions in universities are mostly theoretical guys with 0 day experience in Industry or practice. Many mechanical engineering professors can't even identify the type of bearing shown to them but they teach lubrication technology.
I am sure you will agree that most physics professors can't fix a fuse in their homes.
What value creation we expect from such crap material.
It is time all of us write to UGC to make it compulsory for professors to have at least 7 years Senior manager level experience in Industry/business/consultancy or applied research in their stream.
AS you have international experience you know well that majority of Profs in USA have industry background/consultancy and board room experience.
So that is point from where value creation will start in teaching.
Imagine a music prof. not able to play any musical instrument and having experimented with music composition in her life.
Secondly value creation comes from commitment to customer which sadly Indian Industry and baniyas and also teachers in universities lack. In latter it is mostly politics and manipulations.
I am about to write a note to chairman UGC from my NGO to make conditions for appointment of professors and I suggest you also please use your good offices to press the point and join hands with us.
Mr Harrison Zhang CVM Manager (Grange)
Thanks for your nice introduction about value creation, very interesting.
Mr Ramesh Iyengar Managing Director (Select Direct Marketing Communications Pvt Ltd.)
Many thanks for your views and I look forward to reading more of the same in the future.
My compliments on a tersely written piece that is engaging and communicates well.and definitely saves time in this over communicated world!!!
Mr Aditya Agarwal HRM 2013-15 (XLRI Jamshedpur)
I'm a student of XLRI and I got the opportunity yesterday to attend your talk on Value Creation. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the deep insights you provided us. Your thought provoking questions helped me see the whole process of value creation in a whole new light. It was a topic I had never given much thought to up until now.
Thanks a lot Sir for taking out the time and delivering to us such an informative talk. Your stage presence and audience engagement skills have inspired me to develop my presentation skills and to work towards developing myself as a powerful speaker like you.
Hoping to get an opportunity to learn more from you.
Mr Venkatesh K Cheif Distribution Officer Mumbai (L&T General Insurance Company Ltd)
I have been receiving the CVF's interesting and relevant articles
Keith Daniels Director Sri Lanka (Synergycorp International ( Pvt) Ltd)
Very nice message and thank you
Dinesh Chhabra Chief Executive Officer (Usha international)
Going through the content of your mailer "Value Creation in Education" and the outcome of your discussions with Dr Sharma, I couldn't hold myself back and thus would want to share my personal experience with you.
My son, who was reasonably good in his studies, post his engineering and his joining as a trainee at Wipro, came to have discussions with his mother and me and stated " Dad you have wasted my 4 years, I couldn't be sitting at desk 9 to 5 and writing these stupid codes" My wife was upset and on the contrary I was feeling happy. Happy, because for the 1st time I realize I am talking to an adult, I am talking to a person who has been able to figure out what does he want to do in his life. I took the discussions forward and ask him what do you want to do? he said I want to set up a venture into adventure tourism, again he experience two different expressions, contrary to his expectation, I said good, I am happy, but how would you want to do it, He said give me a week, but meanwhile allow me to resign from my job. My response was it is your life does what you feel best to do but be aware of the consequences.
The boy came back after a week, gave me a presentation and a video to watch, going through the material I had tears in my eyes< i hugged him, i was seeing a young adult who has suddenly become man. A man who has develop the ability to see the value in something what he loves to do and i.e. "to be fit" He immediately knew what I would want him to do, since that day till today he is been following his dream, his love and is exactly doing what he wrote in his project report.
To begin with he wanted to tell the world that I have potential to deliver what I am promising to deliver, He has done 4 mountains. About 50,000 Km of solo cycling... martial art black belt .....Cross fit level 2 trainer - attained a world rating in fitness. Now he has begin his own venture in partnership with another bright kid and has established cross fit box, once he will see the success he wants to establish somewhere near rishikesh a health and fitness park for professionals like us.
The purpose of writing this mail is not to tell you how good I am or my son is, purpose is, our today's education system should enable the kids to dream and bring in the ability, strength and courage to find value in what they dream about, If I would have put pressure on him to continue pursuing what I felt good for him, I would have seen perhaps a not so successful professional but now in him I see a person full of confidence, passion and an extremely cheerful happy and perhaps a successful human being.
DD Maheshwari Vice President (Jubilant Organosys Ltd)
We can create value for students and their parents if they can be provided right guidance for school leaving stage to select right course an college, and for those in college ( to volunteer/intern) to improve their employability quotient, and help them from spending money on coaching (large sums are spent without any return).
I do that in my small way, but the response at the right stage is not encouraging.
Same people come back later, and say how they can turn the clock back and heed to the advice/suggestion provided.
Things are better in the better colleges and institutes, but they are not even 0.5% if look at India.
Except for the metro towns, situation is pathetic.
Gurminder Dhir Head (Commercial/Sales,Marketing,BD) (Geosteel LLC)
My suggestions after reading your mailer "Value Creation in Education" are follow:

· Any student finally goes for either a job or a Business.

· User Industry for either Job/Business is Manufacturing/Services/Agriculture Sector..They will be final users of student skills either in terms of Job/Business.

· So professional in these sectors should very clearly specify what skills the 360 degree matrices they are looking from potential employees or Business Owners.

· Based on very thorough feedback from the Horses mouth further action to be taken by academician to devise courses taking into account both Job/Business segment.

· Whatever they design get it vetted by the top professionals in these sectors, Because they are the best judge.

· Then they can always take back feedback from students also as icing on the cake.
Samir Palsule Manager (Voltas Limited)
I fully agree with you. "Value creation" has to be part of Indian education system and the same needs to be done not by the faculty of the college - but by the industry itself.
Whenever I interact with College students as a part of mock interviews / student's HR assessment / Advisory board / Internal Quality Assurance team, value for the students is "a job that will give them higher salary". Nothing wrong in it but sometimes violation of business ethics also does not matter in achieving this goal.
Hence to inculcate the correct values as expected by the industry while working, the Industry should interact with the school / college students and guide them properly on continuous basis.
Anil Sathe Sr. GM - Supply Chain (Products Business) (Blue Star limited)
Thanks for your mail. It is indeed an important subject and the conversation that you have described does touch upon question bothering many of us both as individuals and also as parents.
To put in simple terms value creation in every educational activity is a must. Let me explain.
In all discussions in business today we always focus on eliminating "non-value added" activities to make the structure /process lean, efficient etc. Essentially we are saying that we have no resources to spend (read waste) on non-value added activities. In educational world this resource for students is certainly time (in many cases money too). For educational institute it could be many more things including manpower.
Let me also say that the conversation suggests that there is a disconnect between educational institutes and businesses, which is dangerous but true. It is almost like designing /manufacturing a product, hoping that customer may finally like the same. Obviously the results in many cases will be sub optimal.
Having said this it is obvious that educational institutes must first prepare students to understand various options and then also encourage them to learn more about the choice they have made and in turn make them ready for the same. In that sense the process is more like first part of value creation is linked to making informed decision and then off course making yourself ready to take the plunge.
Last but not the least we still look at education as first step to get into good career and in turn good life. To a great extent today it kills creativity, some genuine research, and also discourages professions (like social services) which could be very satisfying to many individuals. However I guess that is beyond scope of this discussion.
Would be happy to stay connected on this or other activities that you are leading.
Kuruvilla Abraham Managing Director (TNQ Sponsorship (India) Private Limited)
Pleasure reading your articles.
Gurminder Dhir Head-(Commercial/Sales,Marketing,BD) (Geosteel LLC)
1. See Google , Microsoft and Apple are commercial companies there job it is to maximize sales and profits and as long as it is done legally there is nothing wrong in it , if they won't do it then somebody else will , as long as there is market for their products and services.
2. 21st century onward I think we should forget about the privacy the way we used to think in earlier centuries , it is going to be more and more connected world with all technology advances taking places. Bottom line is all these companies collecting data about you is ultimately to provide you better products and services , they are there to sell you product and services. Finally the consumers are the real gainers.
3. Regarding your point about monopolies being created by these companies , forget it man .Time of monopolies are gone , we have already seen demise of Nokia and Blackberry and I think Microsoft is not going to survive very long with only two products windows and office.
So finally we should embrace everything with open arms and hearts as long as it is legal and offering us better value in terms of product, service, pricing etc. Rest will be automatically taken care of by market forces.
Mr Anil Sathe Sr. GM - Supply Chain (products business) (Blue Star limited)
Very well said.
I remember reading articles by Sumatra Ghosal wherein he had given examples of companies who have worked only on cost reduction of products but had actually reduced its value dramatically by reducing life /reliability and so on, Taking your eyes of the customer is something we cannot afford in any kind of business.
Another way to look at would be - Understand the value customer is willing to pay for certain additional features or new product and deliver the same at lower price.
One more way could be to take a "life cycle cost" approach and make sure that aspects like service /reliability /long term warranty etc. are focused and built in the product .
These issues are critical but unfortunately get ignored many time when we chase only ROI
Mr Martin Pablo Leon O“Farrell Andes Trust
Thanks very interesting..
C PalSingh Managing Director (Brand Protection Associates)
An excellent analytical and thought provoking article.
Thanks for sending to me.
Naveen Kshatriya Founder, Chairman (KV Auto Clinic Pvt Ltd)
Your short write-ups are very insightful. Just right sized in our time short world to get the essence of your thoughts. I share that with some people who love it. It wd good to catchup with you some time.
Sreeram Thiagarajan (The Alchemists Ark)
I find your articles short and sharp, very valuable in these time- challenged days
Mr Vinay Kumar
It was very interesting to read your Article "Big Brothers:Google, Apple and Microsoft". It is very well written and content rich. I fully agree with what you say therein.
Value does get destroyed when there is control. Value gets generated where there is creativity. Creativity and control are more or less indirectly proportional.
Anshul Garg VP-Wealth Management Services (IIFL Private Wealth Management)
I love the articles that you mail across. This is a new perspective to look at irritants & how they impact us in daily life positively.
Vibhuti Jha President (The Human Potential Project)
Dear Gautam, nice job
Good analogy with AAP example. But he may prove once again that his nuisance value has value by winning some key parliament elections and by scoring well even when they lose. He has created a "value rebellion against corruption" - a concept every Indian recognizes is the really evil in India and knows it will take time to get rid of. So give him a chance. His mistake is again what you have really pointed out is his arrogance of a thanedar wielding stick against anyone and everyone, annoying everybody in the process.
Let's stay connected.
Anil Baijal Managing Director & CEO (FlaktWoods ACS (India)Pvt.Ltd.)
Good and valid logic about Value Creation by Nuisance Value. At least the illustrations prove the point.
Eneida Evans Bilingual Property Management Leasing Agent (Concord Village Apartments)
I have been following you Sir for quite a while, I am so proud of your humble leadership to serve and not be served. I have over 30 years of customer service and when I started so long ago....it was the era of true customer service, a family style way of communicating with each other and sharing the work. That era is long gone and I feel that it cannot come back due to shareholders stamp for 100% performance and revenue than caring for what their employees are needing or caring about. If they are unhappy, find another job, we could replace you without any problems.
That's the attitude now and I have tested it time and time again throughout all of my career path journey. Its a dogg-ey dog world now. Its sad but true.
Blessings always Sir, your Latina diversity inclusion activist for a better caring and valuing others world.
Deepak Wadhawan Development Consultant (Deepak Wadhawan & Co)
Thanks. Very well written
Gurminder Dhir Head (Commercial/Sales,Marketing,BD) (Geosteel LLC)
Your point is very correct Customer data should be captured and used ,but make it objective and not subjective . Cover all your basis by designing the right questionnaire so that all the feedback you need gets captured by front end executive.
The points you have raised are very pertinent but see finally the company managers are the final decision makers and rightly they do not have the time to do data mining .
It is the job of Big Data/Analytic to do the data mining and present bullet points to the management.
I know it is not the ideal situation , but I think that is the way it is and I do not think that management attitude will change in this regard.
Companies expect a magic wand a quick fix , as they are the paymaster so we got to supply them this only . If they have to do all the data mining and analysis , then why they should hire somebody from outside and pay him money.
Amit Arora Corporate Relations (Eduexcellence)
Thanks for the article. This article certainly will make think to create processes which can lead to zero complaints rather than fewer complaints
Dayal S Prasad Head-Supply Chain (Tata Steel Limited)
Thanks for sharing your article,which is very simply explained and thought provoking.
I am sharing it with few friends of mine.
GS Rattan
Very thought provoking and giving a new dimension to the conventional thinking of Value Creation. A new and fresh mindset needed and to be applied to redefine this concept.
Vijay Chourey Head - Transmission & Trans Proj. (The Tata Power Company Limited)
The articles are very valuable and I would like to continue receiving them
Eneida Evans Bilingual Property Management Leasing Agent (Concord Village Apartments )
You are truly amazing Sir, I continue to encourage wherever go, how important it is to value your employees, peers then the most important group "the customer". If we are not feeling like our voice counts or feel like we are not valued. Why should the customer benefit from our service? But when a company sacrifices time to reach out to their people and hear new concepts, new ways that they can test within their own employees. Wow, its a win win situation that will grow and become a pay forward concept model. The employees will ignite a light (heart) to customers, peers and even take it within their personal lives. Feeling needed ignites value.
I strongly feel Sir, that within the last 13 years or so, people have stopped trusting each other. Even within families and communities. We keep getting disappointed with each other and now we have shield ourselves with an harden invisible wall to our hearts. We have hardened than soften. Many are seeking truth when its been in front of them all along. That's when faith, hope and love come into play. But no one wants to gamble with this concept anymore. It takes time to seed, water and harvest and they want results yesterday. How can we as visionarys' break this wall?
Its like a roller coaster ride that doesn't end or start. As soon as you correct one piece of this vicious cycle of human nature, there is another area that pops up and makes you feel like you didn't accomplish a thing????
Ajai Nirula Chief Operating Officer (IL&FS Energy Development Company Ltd)
Interesting!
Mr Suresh Rajpal Chairman and CEO (Visnova Solutions Pvt. Ltd.)
Totally agree with your comments. A note on Value Creation by CIO's would be neat!!
Gurminder Dhir Head (Commercial/Sales,Marketing,BD) (Geosteel LLC)
This is a great articles and it explains the concept of Value creation in a commercial/non commercial enterprise in a beautiful way.
Actually these days with big data analytic and 3D printing available. Concept of value creation can be applied in real time for all product and services.
Ask the customer what exactly he wants from a product/service and with big data analytic you will be able to find out many value addition concepts for individual customer, which even customer is not able to spell it out to you directly..
Basic idea is that in future value addition will come through personalized products and services . Mass product and services will also be needed but they will not produce the same value addition for individual customer and hence you will not be able to make customer pay extra for these mass product/services.
Hence bottom line is that future is for personalized products/services for each individual customer by taking help of big data analytic / 3D printing and customer will pay you extra for these personalized products/services.
Mr Rajeev Bhauduria (Jindal Steel)
Dear Gautam....thanks for sharing this very valuable 'piece of knowledge/learning of the new organizational constructs which would be relevant in the Post Lehman world....in the human age really speaking this was exactly what I meant when I said..'the purpose of new leadership is to create values beyond EBIDTA margins and PE ratios'....not just financial equity has to be earned, but more importantly, the emotional equity of the employees, customers and the community around......would be nice for us to meet and work around a concept which is dear to both of us apart from it being most important....regards,...Rajeev
Mr Rajiv Sant Director-Business Development (ABInBev India)
A wonderful thought provoking article.
Thank you for the insight.
Mr Ashok Kumar General Manager - Operations (Indo-German Chamber of Commerce)
Thanks for your mail inputs.
Mr Suresh Rajpal Chairman and CEO (Visnova Solutions Pvt. Ltd.)
I Am in TOTAL agreement with you. I always said that Satisfied / motivated EMPLOYEES drive CUSTOMER satisfaction and satisfied customers drive BUSINESS RESULTS. Its actually a closed loop since Excellent business results have a positive impact on employee morale and employee sat as well. It's one of the factors anyways.
I really like the idea of the HR Manager viewing his role as " The Chief Employee Value Creator ".
Great stuff.
Mr Gurminder Dhir Head (Commercial/Sales,Marketing,BD) (Geosteel LLC)
Thanks a lot for your mail.
Well to tell you very frankly I am not a big fan of HR department. Only job where they provide value addition is to do the job of Talent scouting for the company.
But with LinkedIn and other social networking sites coming in, I think they can take care of this talent scouting job for a company in future very well, we still do not know how effective big data can be.
Once the talent is in the company, I do not think HR has much role to play. It is the job of Line managers like CEO, COO, CMO, CFO, CIO to run the business and they will do fine whether HR exists or not.
Ashok Jena
Hi!, Lot of thanks for strengthening HR .How Important for a Organization as a Line Manager HR along with the Line Manager Unit .on the way everyday our journey with huge rush in any mode of communication always the sound comes in our ear someone is moving one company to another no matter the company size more than majority is only for the purpose of Line Manager unit less than majority is for enhancement of pay or for better opportunity. Which company in the World success for retaining talent? We have raised the Issue and Solution as well how important for any company Line Manager HR although it is a crucial part for HR most senior people from HR having certain Interest in Research mind engage in such job can make the Journey of the company big to bigger. 2) Creating Value of Customer more or less maintain everywhere but how creating more value for Share holder is not a fact only it's a great subject in current environment to make this practice perfect involving large data management and data analysis sharing continuously not only enhance the interest towards business but also close the gap for binding with business.
Dr R.K. Gupta Director (SCMS)
Thanks for nice write up
Bob Thompson CEO (Customer Think)
Great time at dinner meeting this week, discussing my new book Hooked on Customers and customer value creation. Special thanks to Dick Lee, Andy Rudin and Barry Trailer for flying in to participate. And to Gautam Mahajan for visiting from India to lead the discussion. Four key questions to ponder: 1. Do you know what really matters to your customers? 2. What emotion do they feel after they interact with your firm? 3. Do employees genuinely care about provide a great experience? 4. Are you giving too much attention to technology? Read the full post: http://dlvr.it/5csPxR" Value Creation - Doing "What Matters" to Customers
David Physick Principal Consultant (Glowinkowski International Limited)
Gautam,

What you write about in today's newsletter reminds me of activity I drove forward in one of the UK banks many years ago. Following a visit behind the scenes at Disney, we saw them encouraging their staff, sorry cast members, to hold conversations that they called "Good show, bad show". This was a means by which cast could bring into work their own experiences of being customers. What were good ones, what were bad ones? What could be learnt from each situation? How could that learning, i.e. to do more of the good and less of the bad, be "adapted and adopted" into Disney's approach. Very powerful.
I often uses a couple of quotes. One is an old Native American statement, "You cannot understand another man until you have walked a 1,000 steps in his moccasins." The other comes from the magnificent novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, "To see someone else's perspective, you have to pull on their skin and walk around in it for a little while."
I once accused my colleagues of being "institutionally hypocritical" for espousing much rhetoric about the customer but actually doing little to improve their experience compounded by their delight at talking about instances where they had "taken to task" a business they were dealing with as a customer.
It sounds as though you have found a very rich and effective manner to open up some powerful conversations that, hopefully, will precipitate action that will enhance the customer experience and generate value for all.
SR Desai Customer Services (Tata Chemicals)
Dear Sir: Greetings.!!!
This is to inform to that since from few moths I have stopped receiving following from CVF, though I have not unsubscribed from my mailing list. I am used to read and this helped me personally to gain the knowledge and updates related to Customer Values and for my job profile.
I rigorously follow 'Attribute Tree' to increase CSI for my organisation, which I have learnt from you. Thank you.
Steven Forth Consultant (Rocket Builders)
Gautam, you created a bit of a stir in Vancouver. Alan, Rob and Thealzel have all mentioned your ideas on more than one occasion and it was the theme of much of the conversation of a dinner I hosted last week that Rob and his wife Cynthia attended.
Eneida Evans Bilingual Property Management Leasing Agent (Concord Village Apartments)
Congratulations Sir, you have found the missing link. How can someone become a CCO? Blessings!
Mike Corcoran Founder (GVP Partners)
Gautam, Nice message!
Thanks
Dr. J. Sonwalkar Directorate of Distance Education and Professor of Marketing (University of Indore)
I fully agree with the points raised in your discussion about the real customer value delivered to the customers, which is missing in most of the Indian companies.
At the most the companies take or send a feedback form to the customers and feel that they have done a great service by taking feedback.
In case of complaint or problem with the customers the company gives standard reply and customer is left to his/her fate.
There is a great need to not only do international marketing of this concept to the internal employees of the company but also there is a need to make customers aware on up to what extent he/she can get benefits from the company.
I am ready to help you develop this area further if you deem it fit.
Best luck, keep me informed the progress.
Jayne laville Project manager new Addington job club (New Addington Job club)
Thank you for sending this. It made me laugh, very good. If companies continue in this current pattern we will have more than the whole of Europe laughing at us I assure you. How can they not see the obvious? Clarity, clear, common sense.
In the past when i would train people, (I used to have to gag my Autism down, as in literally bite my tongue to stop it speaking) because people simply didn't get it; !?! A customer orientated society we are not! I myself so far have written negative comments on three big names for example sky," new customers get a free box and existing customers were told to pay either £69 installment or wait a year and a half to have it for free" I like this example of our customer orientation as a whole country, it's simple to see were they have gone wrong. Just Imagine you are the customer and then decide the best possible outcome, giving added value with a smile whilst you deliver total customer satisfaction.
But what if the sales department are being unchecked? Selling unashamedly to hit that target, picking up the pieces is customer service, how they can take being shouted at in high volumes. My hats off to them, personally i would like to smash those automated machines, now one i use has put a 2minute advice sale advert in between you inserting your debit card numbers and pressing confirm, you have no choice but to listen, my teeth are clenched by the end of it.
What cheek!
I believe in a marketing orientated culture with customer focus being its drive. Companies that do implement this structure would be successful. For social media, i would hire somebody to manage it for me, a dedicated manager, who would set up the accounts on the obvious sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn etc,
Then blog and scour sites for mention of the brand. Give Immediate responses; keep an eye on the competition etc.
Indeed we are in the digital age.
M.V.Narayanan
I read with interest your mail. There is no real empowerment of customer interface and the interface is slowly vanishing.
Take a simple case of a Burger. It does not fit into your mouth and the contents overflow. The sachet are still not easy to open.
There is a good article in HBR titled "Staple yourself to a Customer Order" and go through its Journey in the organization.
The front end or the people for the customer interface are even outsourced today.
Simple practice of Management by Walking around the Customer Interface area would help a lot.
Lot can be done with simple ways when you have serious interest in customer.
Narendera K Gupta General Manager (Infrastructural Projects Globally Consulting)
Thanks Gautam for update and knowledge article. It is a learning experience.
Ms Inci McGreal Senior Electrical & Electronics Engineer (Schneider Electric)
Gautam thank you for adding me to your network. The conversations you are hosting are very insightful and to the point. I am honored with our connection.
Vinay Kumar (Petcon)
1. Thank you for your very interesting views on "Employee's Journey".
2 Unfortunately I could not down load the full article and I Request you to send it again.
3. I share the importance of the subject.
4. I have looked at an employee's journey in different parts:
4.1. Evolution of the employee by structured inputs,
4.2.Evolution by his own spirit of adventure; this includes internal interaction with different associates and groups Irrespective of level, in the organizational fraternity.
4.2. The evolution by way of structured and adventurous inputs from all external associates including consultants, auditors, Banks, financial associated and customers.
4.3. The evolution of the company and the impact of the ndividual's evolution on the company.
5. I am aware that several large organization - Shell, TOTAL, Indian Railways, Government of India (IAS) etc. do have a well intentioned program in the travel schedule of employees during Their careers. Often there are many deviations in the journeys due to external factors, but, committed professional organizations Retain their focus on the travel schedule.
6. You will surprised that several Chairmen of the Railway Board in India and several Cabinet Secretaries have been the products Of such planned journeys.
7. Sadly the number of persons reaching the destination by Accident rather than by a planned journey is growing.
8. It will be a pleasure to sit and have a chat one of these Days.
Vinay Kumar Formerly with Dept of Science and Technology, and Professor ( IIT Delhi and Roorkee)
It is a very thought provoking Article. I feel all important issues of an employee's journey from the time he/she joins the company till he/she retires (or leaves) are covered. Time wise it could be short or long.
Rakesh Sinha COO (Godrej Consumer Products)
Dear Gautam,

Thanks for sharing the article. I agree with you that the idea of CVCO is a very powerful one. However, his role should be well defined and should not interfere with other executives in the company.
The idea of measuring value creation for investors, customers and employees is again quite powerful. As regards value creation for investors, I feel metrics like EVA and MVA are quite robust indicators with strong improvement systems built around them. In case of customers, value is created through surplus that the customer enjoys in using our offering versus any other alternative (competition offering or non-use). Although it is difficult to measure, there are techniques to estimate it pretty well.
The real challenge is in measuring value created for employees. It manifests itself in various forms . human development, job satisfaction, peace of mind, monetary surplus, etc. If we can aggregate these and come up with a single measure, it would be great.
Having identified the metrics and the way to measure them, we can identify action and policy levers to move each one of them. If such a system is properly designed and built, moving the needle on these metrics will be the main deliverable of CVCO. He will also be a guardian of this value creation with power to veto actions which would move the needle back!
These are my first-cut thoughts. Will be happy to share and discuss further, if you find them useful.
Eneida Evans Bilingual Property Management Leasing Agent (Concord Village Apartments)
Dear humble leader of truth,

I feel that this new role of truth, justice and value will not get anywhere, since there is so much agenda driven secret circles within major companies today, they would not allow this special role to peek into their true mission in life.
I would suggest for you to have a major webcam meeting with all the CEO, CIO, and CFO's of major USA companies and mediate first SIR, so that you will be able to be blessed in seeing them through a seer's eyes.
Blessings Sir, you are an amazing role model for you to still believe in corporate America.
Frank Vorrath VP, Global Sector Head Automotive DHL Global Forwarding (DHL)
Dear Gautam, many thanks and very interesting views on value creation. I will comment on this at an appropriate time or when I feel the need to do so. Kind regards, Frank
Rajesh Kumar Professor of International Management (Menlo College)
Dear Gautam, find the topic of value creation very interesting. I work in the field of strategic alliances where this is a big issue. How do you create value without giving away your core competence? I have written a fair amount in this area
Luiz Moutinho Foundation Professor (University of Glasgow)
Dear Gautam, Thank you .Hope all is well.
Great dyad.....mindset change and H2H!
ALL THE BEST.
Mohamad S Souri Customer-Satisfaction Manager (Maadiran)
Thank you so much for your very useful article.
Joseph Thomas Project Consultant, Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CSIE), (IIT Madras-CSIE)
Dear Dr. Mahajan,
Interesting piece.
Here is an example.
I have two connections with Reliance (for data) and 2 connections with Vodafone for voice.
When I log in to to Reliance both numbers are shown and I can choose which one to pay.
I asked Vodafone to do the same and their customer care people said(I am sure without applying mind) that in their system for each connection you have to login separately, which to my mind is a waste of resources and a pain for a customer having to remember 2 different sets of passwords.
Here is a list of user ID and passwords I have to remember
1) HDFC bank (also Debit card pin) (USRID and password for account hangs every six months
2) Standard and Chartered Bank (pin no.)
3) ICICI Credit card ( 4 digit pin and 6 digit security pin)
4) Reliance data card. 2 no's (one user id and password)
5) Vodafone voice connection
6) Vodafone voice and data connection
7) Yahoo mail ID and password (personal)
8) G mail mail ID and password (personal)
9) Office email ID and password
10) Facebook ID and password
11) LinkedIn ID and password
12) IRCTC ID and password
13) Clear trip ID and password
14) Movie booking ID and password
15) Domino's ID and password
16) Property tax payment ID and password
17) Water and sewerage tax ID and password
18) Electricity ID and password
19) BSNL ID and password (voice and broadband)
20) ACT Broadband (fiber) ID and password
21) LIC life insurance ID and password
22) Vehicle Insurance ID and password
23) Magazine subscription ID and password
There are probably more that I haven't listed since they are used less often.
The internet is supposed to make things easier, none of this remembering ID and password looks easy to me or anyone else. If you start asking people to add to the list I am sure it may well exceed 50 instances. Is this progress?
Why as a paying customer to all these services must I have to do this?
Don't all of these business people have to make things easier and simpler for me to handle my money?
I can think of solutions that should work in 90% of the situation s.
yours sincerely
Dr. Kanayalal Raina President (Business Institute of Canada)
Often it is said training is for dogs (sit, bark, roll!) and education for human beings. Mind-set changes are best impacted by self-introspection. I like it.
P Jayaram
Thanks, Gautam. Some food for thought. I am tossing it to some friends, who may send you their thoughts on who do they work for.
Yasuharu Ishitaka Former President ( Tokan Material Techonology Co. Ltd.)
Dear Gautam:
Some comment for you about WHOM DO I WORK FOR? All dependent upon where is your position in your organization. If you are an owner of self-run organization, the answer will be one but you are employee of mid to larger size organization, the answer will be different from above case because the owner of the self-run organization (company) work for him (her) self, family, customers (individual or corporate organization) and counterparts. This means the answer is not limited to simply one element rather for everything.
In latter case, majority of individuals may think they work first for themselves to earn their living source (money). If you are too ambitious to climb to upper position, you work or pretend to work for their bosses.
No matter from what motivations comes from, the results converge into the company or create the nature of the company they belong to. In relation to customer (of CVJ's), the basic view points are company to company relations in which there only exist individuals as a part.
When you may ask whom does company work for, one of the answers will be for society (as tax payer), for customers who provides the means of life, and for employee. Need not to hurry but conclusively, the most important key is who provides the source of wealth to sustain corporate and individual life, customer is it.
The story will be different between when you talk on individuals (which seems more interesting because they wear a variety of colors) and when you talk on big organization (mono or simple tone).
Jaspreet
Dear Mr. Mahajan,
Greetings of the day! .... Mr. . Vinod Sood, MD of Hughes Systique shared your below mentioned article.....
Customer Centricity and experience & value we create for customers' is something that i very passionately want to learn more about Learned thought leaders like your good self with their vast knowledge & innovative thinking are a huge source of learning
I also have taken the liberty of sending you a linked in invite....
Warm regards
Jaspreet
Raghu Ananthanarayanan Co Founder (The Barefoot Academy of Governance)
I think all of us ought to work for the future of the earth and for the well being of our children's children what ever else we work for is a sub set of this urgent need!
Raghu
Equanimity just looks on and observes, while calmly settled in composed neutrality. It is manifested as the quieting of both resentment and approval. Gautham Buddha
Suresh Iyer Farmer & CEO (Akshaya Home Farms)
Dear Gautam,
Greetings. Read your email and also visited the www, good work and all the best. We are still a little while away before we can use CVF, but it's in the right direction. I can also help you in consulting if you find my profile suitable.
Sunil Sehgal Independent Consultant
Today's scenario, the fact remains that everyone works for himself and money i.e. investors, management(CEO) or employees.
Of course the Customer comes first as you can fight with your boss for customer satisfaction as you can not think a company without customer.
Investors are putting their money to earn more with a confidence on Management. Company's culture is important as people will get moulded in the same culture slowly. How treatment at workplace is actually given than preached. Top management will keep on talking about customer and when there is need you find yourself alone standing in front of customer without even back end support.
Hence, most important is the Culture of the company and setting example for dealing with Customers
I had been in Customer relationship & KAM for 3 decades and these are my views.
Presently at Delhi and consultant to Shubh Exim and work load is very low for which am not comfortable.
Paola Siri Export & Import Coordinator (Monsanto Argentina SAIC)
Dear Gautam,
Good morning. Great Article. Thanks to share with us. So clear and represent now a days lot of problems the CIAS has to face, as employees and customers do not come first. As for this we are having serious problems to keep talent people and motivate them to grow in an exponential way.
Sanjeev Kulkarni SBU Head Foundry Division (Kirloskar Ferrous Industries Ltd.)
Dear sir,

Very good article.
You are right Employees and Customers comes first. Going beyond that Employees comes first. If right culture is not built, to create great place for working you cannot take care of Customers.
Regards
Frank Vorrath VP, Global Sector Head Automotive DHL Global Forwarding (DHL)
Dear Gautam,
Many thanks and great reading.
Sunil Pant Chief General Manager (SBI)
Excellent, Mr. Mahajan.
very thought provoking piece.
Let me mull over it before responding
Dr. M Athreya Former Professor (IIM Kolkata)
Thank you. Good question --- Clear answer --- Will read with great interest.
Very best wishes,
Dr. Athreya
Shekhar Tiwari VP and Business Lead - Supply Chain and Custom Work (Accenture India)
Very insightful
Chand Das SBU CEO (ITC Limited)
Dear Gautam,
Completely agree!
ITC is a good example of embedding sustainability
in its various businesses & in the process providing livelihood to 6 million people.
Our latest Sustainability report 2014 ,
Vikrant Mudaliar Vice President - Brand Marketing (Tata Sky Ltd)
Thanks Gautam...interesting article.
Rajendra K. Gupta Director & Chief Consultant (Sobhagya Consultancy & Marleting Services-India)
Thanks for nice article, sir. Problem is capitalist lobby led by Harvard first creates capitalist crooks and then Finds way to moderate the disease. All these slangs like conscious capitalism, CSR etc are to fool citizens of society where these crooks operate and bleed poor citizens. It is like a surgeon taking out flash sympathetically.
Employees, capital and land, all are mere factors of production of goods and services. All have to be maintained and taken care of. Obviously human beings need more care. They are least bothered about profit greed of owners. Unless they are also bribed through stock options. he he!
The fact is purpose of business is not to make money but to serve people by producing quality products while using resources optimally. Capitalism is a vulgar form of business philosophy that is root cause of problems of modern society. A small amount of capital accumulation is required for growth of economy of any society.
I strongly condemn naked capitalism, huge unjustified salaries of CEOs , 5 star culture and reckless promotion of consumerism so that les than 5% people accumulate wealth at cost of sufferings of majority
This is exactly what M M Singh did to India in 10 years and unfortunately another quack in name of Modi has followed in PM post.
Strategies beyond 5 years are difficult to make and sustain unless one operates in Monopolistic market.
But then even Microsoft has taken back seat to Google and others
Vinood Sood Managing Director (Hughes Systique India Pvt. Ltd.)
Dear Gautam,
Thank you very much for coming and delivering the talk. It was very well received, I am sure the folks who attended will take the message back and contribute in their own way in creating value for their customers. Manoj and Jaspreet also are discussing as to how we can use your services in taking this entire initiative forward.
Regards
Vinod
David Yule Author, Management Consultant, Sales Specialist (GTi Training Ltd)
Great article - just a very small picky point, when I am working in Europe or Australia I cannot refer to a customer as he or him I must use they or them.
Leslie Eastman Currently retired
Thank you for such a well analyzed article regarding Customer Value and the defection of so called "loyal" customers to competitors. All one has to do is look at Home Depot's fiscal performance to see this in real time. Excellent in-depth analysis and very enlightening.
Regards,
Leslie Eastman
Dave Anand
You are one of those Value Creating leaders Gautam.
Sugata Sanyal Research Advisor (Tata Consultancy Services)
Gautam: Deeply positive post. Congratulations. Happy Diwali in advance. Regards: Sugata
Michelle Romanica Producer (Customer Experience Show)
ust had to tell you how much I enjoyed this article. Very real, raw, vulnerable and transparent - all identifying you as someone who works with heart and mind.
Loved it! Thanks, Gautam. People like you keep my belief alive that creating a better world for all is happening!
Karan Mahajan
Wonderful article, dad, keep it up. Especially loved the anecdote about the lawyer and lihaz!
Frank Vorrath VP Global Sector Head Automotive (DHL)
Dear Mahajan, many thanks and very encouraging. The question is how can we teach more leaders in the world to adapt the below and teach also younger generations that there is more in life then just to have more and more dollars. Kind regards, Frank
Prem Sibbal (Prof.)
Dear Mr. Mahajan,
Thanks tonnes for sharing your wonderful experiences. We are much happier when we do some good deeds without expectations and as beautifully mentioned Lihaz as our elders had practiced and we learnt these values from them These principles equally apply in Corporate world and elsewhere. Thanks again. Would like to speak to you and meet as mutually convenient.
Harvey Thompson Author and former head of CVM at IBM? (IBM?)
I have followed your many successes with great interest and have found articles on the site to be content rich and very well written.
I will be eager to see the new journal, and perhaps -- once the dust settles from this book -- can contribute in some future capacity (perhaps as a reviewer).
Deepak Shetty Chief Marketing Officer - Domestic (Moserbaer India Ltd.)
Thanks Gautam. Excellent Thought Process. Would like to see this shift happening around us.
Nagarajan Appasamy Senior Manager - Power train Purchase (Renault Nissan Technology & Business Centre India Pvt. Ltd.)
Dear Mahajan ,
Thanks for the Mail.
Nice Drive/ Initiative ...Keep it up.
Geetha Smita Rathnam
Amen!
This is what us firms are going away from and is very risky.
(Hughes Systique Corporation)
Mr. Gautam Mahajan spoke on "Creating Value for your Customers" at Hughes Systique Corporation on 7 October 2014 https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hughes-Systique-Corporation/156863194386477
Bob Thompson CEO (Customer Think Corporation)
This is a great article. OK to publish on Customer Think?
Vijay Kumar Pushkarna Director & Principal Consultant (Pushkarna Consultancy Services)
Thanks for your mail. These are quite good insights. We will get associated with each other in near future.
Luiz Moutinho Professor (University of Glasgow)
Dear Gautam,
Thank you. Well done. Very good insights and in total accordance with my valus and principles.Hope all is well.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.